Dear the beloved friends of the late Thomas Charles Wesley Ehrhart (better known as TC), My name is Lisa Valletutti. You may not know me, never-the-less it doesn't matter. You may not even know who TC was, but I'm asking you to just take a moment of your time to read this email and to express your love. As many of you know, Tom and I were very close earlier on this year. Although we didnt speak much the beginning of this school year, I still knew that he cared about me. To those of you who have not yet been told, TC was pronounced dead yesterday, September 11, 2000 at 4:30 pm. Myself, along with a few others were permitted to go visit him alone for the final time. However, most of the people that we on the list yesterday went up to say goodbye to him as well. This experience has not only brought me closer to God, but I think it has brought me to him as well. Everyone that knows him knows that if God were to pick one person, it's a shame that it had to be TC. We all knew him as the "tall skinny Irish boy"; many just knew him as "Tom". But others, such as myself, and the closest of his friends, knew him on a much deeper level. Tom has touched every single one of our lives in some way, shape, or form. I attended school today, Tuesday, and was alarmed to see the amount of people that were grieving from this experience. If you would have asked him, he would have said that he "was a loser and had no friends." Apparently, that wasn't true. Tom has the absolute biggest heart, and even if you only said hello once to him at school or whatever, you knew just how special he really was. This accident, despite how terrible it really was, brought many people together. I know that it has completely changed my life, and that losing Tom as a really close friend has not only brought me closer to God, but closer to everyone else that knew him. The wake will be held at New Hyde Park Funeral Home on Lakeville Road on Thursday and Friday of this week. They will be held from 2-4 and 7-10 on both days. The funeral mass is going to be held at Notre Dame church at 10:15 on Saturday morning. TC's accident was just another one of those bumps in the road that God throws at us. That's how I know that this is only for the best. Tom is with his father, Joe, now. I promised him Mets in 2000, and I let him know just how many people really cared, even the ones that he didn't even know. On Sunday night, over 100 students from Herricks came to the hospital with hope that they would see him. Unfortunately, even his closest of friends were denied access to see him, which left many people in tears. I thank God that I met Tom, because he will always, especially now, occupy a deep part of my heart. Please keep him in your prayers. God gave him an ultimatum. He told him that he could either stay with us, or go home with his father. Any of us that really knew TC knew that the one thing he really strove for was to see his father. During school today, or at least what I attended, I spent most of my time in the guidance office, speaking to his guidance counsler, Mr. Krant, as well as my own, Mrs. Kriess. Myself and a few others came up with the idea of starting a campaign in his honor at school for enforcement of bicycle helmet usage. I think that this is an excellent idea because it will not only carry on TC's name to people forever, but it will help to save thousands of lives each year from accidents just like this one. Also, as most of you know, on a more positive note, Tom is donating his organs to people that really need them. What eased my pain somewhat was knowing how many happy families there were out there last night, because they had hope for their own child to live. I know that at least I, and many others also want to discourage driving before 17. One can only imagine with this 16 year old driver is going through right now, because he was driving underage. If people just waited until they were 17, they'd have had more practice, and accidents like this one may have never occurred. I know that I am not going to let TC's accomplishments go unnoticed. I am doing everything in my power to keep his name alive in every single one of our hearts. I can't promise you that I can talk for long, but if you have any questions, you're better off dropping me an email. Please forward to anyone that you think would care. Please be strong. Thank you so much for your time. He'd be so proud of himself right now. I apologize if you received this email more than once. They're all the same. Keep him in your prayers and in your hearts. We all love him.

Love Always,
Lisa Valletutti

"Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of Men" -Matthew 4:19